Chapter 6 - The
Beatitudes
Mat_5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall
be called the children of God.
Bonhoeffer- 'The
followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found
their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not
only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and
tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. His
kingdom is one of peace, and the mutual greeting of his flock is a greeting of
peace. His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves
rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would
break it off. They renounce all self-assertion, and quietly suffer in the face
of hatred and wrong. In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish
the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate. But nowhere will that
peace be more manifest than were they meet the wicked in peace and ready to
suffer at their hands. The peacemakers will carry the cross with their Lord,
for it was on the cross that peace was made. Now that they are partners in
Christ's work of reconciliation they are called the sons of God as he is the
Son of God.'
1Jn_3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
My thoughts-
Peacemakers.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to
will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and
disputings:
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the
sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,
among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Php 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may
rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in
vain.
In the midst of a
crooked and perverse nation we live. No
one can truly dispute this fact. And being in the midst of it we will truly
stand our as LIGHTS in the world if we are NOT a part of the crookedness, the
perverseness. How easy it is to laugh at
the crude joke, to smile at the perverted words that so many today call normal
and good. How incredibly easy it is to fit in with the world by sacrificing
truth and accepting evil for good. To be
a peacemaker truly means being wholly Christ's and while the world, perverted
as it is, immerses itself ever deeper into the vile mire of evil, it means NOT
being a part of anything that would destroy the peace of Christ, His truth!
Remember this--
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.
And this--
Joh_16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in
me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world.
Christ's PEACE is
left with US.
In the world we will
have TRIBULATION- but we are to BE OF GOOD CHEER because Christ has overcome
the world!
This is the peace we
have.
Christ said this--
Mat_10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on
earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
That sword is HIS
WORD!
Eph_6:17 ...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light
of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the
darkness comprehended it not.
Our Savior, the
Word, truth!
Our Savior did not
come to bring peace on earth- HIS WORDS, NOT MINE!
Our Savior came to
bring the TRUTH on earth!
Our Savior came to
bring HIS PEACE, the peace found ONLY IN HIM and NOT in the world!
Blessed are the
peacemakers- those who understand that
peacemaking is living in CHRIST wholly trusting in Him and all His ways, and
not our own!
Yes, in the face of
adversity we are to be strong IN CHRIST. We are not to render evil unto evil!
We have been taught this is the way it is, that it's only fair for us to stand
up for ourselves even being mean and nasty while we do so, because we are only
giving it to someone who deserves it. The truth says otherwise! The truth says
we must be PEACEMAKERS even if that means TRULY turning the other cheek so it
can be slapped, and turning it again to be slapped, and again, and again,
letting vile people continue their evil without us being evil in return but
rather PEACEFUL IN CHRIST as CHRIST would have us be, not as we want, not as
our evil flesh nature wants, but as CHRIST would have us be in the Spirit with
HIM.
This is harder than
you can imagine.
In our every day
lives there comes constant little nit picking nastiness that we are so
incredibly used to that we don't even realize that we are being far from
peacemakers but giving evil for evil, not even attempting to turn a cheek for
another slap but raising our arms to give a few slaps of our own. We do this! We are GUILTY! We don't want to
admit our guilt but it's there! We want to excuse our guilt! But there is NO excuse for our GUILT! NO
EXCUSE! We must ask for forgiveness
recognizing the sin in our lives in the smallest of ways, not try to excuse it
away, but seek forgiveness for every single cocky, contrary, bickering, biting,
word we speak and try to justify under the world's standard of justification.
We need to be
PEACEMAKERS, Christ's disciples!
All by HIS GRACE,
MERCY, HIS LOVE!
Save us!
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